Status: Read from February 19 to 20, 2014 — I own a copy {Courtesy the author}

My Thoughts:

Lily Malone hits a hole in one with this engaging, and somewhat unusual, romance novel featuring friendship, intimacy and love.

When Jennifer Gates catches her pro golfer boyfriend, Jack, in the bunker with the boss’s daughter, she finally has to admit that their relationship has run its course and, taking their toddler son Seb, she seeks sanctuary at the beach shack owned by her best friend’s parents. But Jennifer is surprised to find Brayden Culhane already in residence, taking time out after a shocking incident his family knows nothing about.
Once Jennifer had imagined her future might lay with her best friend’s brother, after a night of tequila slammers and a mind blowing kiss, but the timing had been all wrong, and then she had met Jack. Though wary of sharing the cottage with Brayden, with no where else to go, she accepts his invitation to stay until she can decide on her next move and as she begins to piece together a new life for herself and her son, Jennifer wonders if perhaps this time she and Brayden may get the timing just right.

I enjoyed this appealing contemporary romance. It doesn’t hurt that the author sets much of Fairway To Heaven very near to where I regularly holidayed as a child in southern Western Australia. In fact my grandparents owned a beach shack not unlike the one in which Jennifer and her son stay, reviving some wonderful memories for me.

And though golf bores me to tears, after a childhood spent caddying for those same grandparents, there is actually little mention of the game, alleviating the concerns I first had about the story when asked to read it.

There are some surprises in this novel that wouldn’t usually be encountered in a traditional romance novel. The first involves Jennifer’s physical intimacy issues, which are quite explicitly detailed by the author. The second is the serious incident that prompted Brayden’s stay at the beach cottage. I think both plot points are a brave choice and add interest to the story and characters however I was a little disappointed by the lack of resolution to Brayden’s woes as it left me unable to imagine his and Jennifer’s happy future together. I’m wondering if perhaps Malone intends to follow this up in a future book.

I’ve previously read His Brand of Beautiful by Lily Malone which was published by Harlequin’s digital imprint, Escape. Fairway To Heaven is a self published title but shows the hallmarks of a professional edit. It is a likeable, if not quite traditional, romance and one I’d be happy to recommend.